GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — A former funeral home operator pleaded guilty in federal court to mail fraud charges after prosecutors say she devised and executed a scheme to steal bodies and body parts and then sell them.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Megan Hess admitted that from 2010 to 2018, she worked to steal bodies and body parts from hundreds of victims, which were then sold to other victims who wanted to purchase the remains for scientific, medical, or educational purposes, prosecutors said in a news release.
Hess and Koch, who ran Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors, were accused of meeting with grieving families and saying they would provide cremation services at a cost of $1,000 or more, CNN reported. Instead of performing the cremation, prosecutors said Hess would ship the bodies and body parts from her funeral home through a second business she created to act as a “body broker service,” CNN reported.
Hess and her mother, Shirley Koch, were indicted in 2020 on multiple counts in connection with the case, CNN reported. A change of plea hearing is scheduled for July 12 for Koch.
“I exceeded the scope of the consent and I’m trying to make it right,” Hess told a judge in court when asked how she committed the crime to which she pleaded guilty, The Daily Sentinel reported.
Investigators said that families who paid for cremation were given ashes in urns that were not those of their deceased loved ones, The Daily Sentinel reported.
According to court documents obtained by The Daily Sentinel, some of the body parts that Hess sold to unknowing clients belonged to people with infectious diseases, such as HIV and hepatitis.
Hess’ sentencing date has not been set, but under the plea agreement, the maximum sentence Hess could face is 20 years.
Though some victims of the scheme told The Daily Sentinel that they felt the plea agreement was generous, they urged the court to accept it so that they could move on.
“I would like to hear Ms. Hess admit what she has done instead of a jury finding her guilty,” Debra Schum told the newspaper.